In a Sept. 16 match where it was hard to tell if the rain or the physical play was harder, the Ballard High School girls soccer team had to content itself with a 0-0 tie after outplaying Nathan Hale High School offensively in the second half.

During the first half of the nonconference match, both sides survived a number of shots on goal thanks to missed opportunities and some great saves from Ballard senior keeper Berni Cardon and Nathan Hale keeper Emily Boyd.

Cardon had a fantastic diving save in the 32nd minute of the first half, punching the ball out of bounds. But, Boyd responded by protecting the net during a barrage of Ballard attempts in the final five minutes of the half.

The Beavers kept up that barrage in the second half, dominating the time of possession, but came away empty handed. Ballard attempted what seemed like an endless string of corner kicks, all of which were thwarted by the Nathan Hale keeper.

Ballard came close to pulling out its first win of the season when sophomore Kat Anesini got by a diving Boyd and put the ball in the net. But, the goal was called off on an offsides penalty that drew groans from the Ballard fans huddled under umbrellas.

On the bright side for the Beavers, the tie breaks a three-match losing streak.

Ballard (0-3-2) finishes up the nonconference schedule with a tough matchup against Metro 3A's Seattle Prep (4-0-0) at 4 p.m. Sept. 16 at Ballard High School. Seattle Prep has outscored its opponents by an average of more than 2.5 points this season.

The Beavers open KingCo play Sept. 21 against Eastlake High School.